A Jaunt Through Space
by FourEyedTurtle
Summary: What happens when you finally meet your best friend for the first time after months of talking online...? An adventure through time and space with your favourite ninja turtles, of course! Delve into a new universe, created by my close friends on Tumblr and rehashed into a fanfiction by me.
1. The Ring and Bake Show

**Chapter 1 – The Ring and Bake Show**

I walked apprehensively out of the cramped corridor that connected my plane to the airport. Gripping my bag tightly to my side, I scanned the sea of faces for some form of familiarity, but none came. I didn't know what I was expecting, this wasn't like the movies where there was some uplifting music playing in the background and everything runs in slow motion for the big reunion.

This was real life, and I still had to get my suitcase from the carousel and worm my way through the inordinate amount of people at Tampa International Airport. It was by far the furthest I'd ever travelled on my own, spending an entire twenty- four hours on the plane. But all of that was going to be worth it when I finally got to meet her.

When I stepped out into the international lounge, there were hundreds of people all greeting their loved ones, and even a few people holding up signs with surnames scrawled on them. I shouldn't have been surprised when I spied a large sign with a ninja turtle plastered on it with the words "Welcome Pie!" and various hearts scattered around. A huge grin claimed my face and I dashed towards the sign.

It was lowered to reveal a smile that mirrored mine and for a couple of seconds, time stood still. When full realisation sunk in, I flung myself at her and wrapped my arms all the way around her. She matched my actions and we stood like that for a few moments, finally embracing each other after months of talking online.

"Shelle!" I finally managed to croak out through the river of tears that had burst from my eyes.

"Pie!" She exclaimed back, refusing to break from the long overdue hug.

"I can't believe it's actually you!" My voice came out as a high pitched squeak, desperately trying not to break down. Shelle loosened her grip on me and held me at arm's length, taking in all my features. I'd seen pictures of my friend, of course, we'd exchanged hundreds of pictures over the months that we'd been talking, but nothing could have prepared me for seeing her in the flesh. It was a surreal feeling, like I was meeting a celebrity that I'd only ever seen on television.

The funny thing was, before Shelle and I started talking on the website Tumblr, I had actually thought of her a celebrity. She was adored by hundreds on the website and I often heard her name mentioned in positive light. So when we did finally start to talk, I was nervous, wary of her.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Shelle and I had spoken every single day since then, getting ourselves into all sorts of mischief. And now, now, it was time to make all that a reality.

After another round of hugging and crying, we headed back to Shelle's car and made the trip back to her house. Florida was a really beautiful place; I'd landed on a lovely sunny day and the rays beat down on us as we drove. During the journey we spoke nonstop, all about our various shenanigans on Tumblr and most of all about our beloved Tumblr Turtles.

This website was a place for people to express themselves through their own personal blogs, and we'd stumbled upon four incredible ones. We had bonded over a mutual love for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and as the Tumblr Turtle's blogs got bigger, we grew with them.

First was our dear leader, Leonardo. He had been the one to start it all off, long before I even joined the website. He wrote of tales of the turtles' adventures, and eventually it turned into an ask and interaction blog.

Then his brothers Raphael and Michelangelo joined. They had to share one blog, as Mikey needed to be looked after. He is the baby of the team after all.

Months of pestering finally found the last brother, Donatello, joining the little group and he brought with him our friend April, who Shelle and I had both interacted with many times.

It was a perfect setup, and we marvelled in the time we spent chatting and interacting with the Tumblr Turtles' blogs, even becoming part of their wonderful group.

Deep down, we knew it wasn't real, but the characters were so well portrayed that occasionally, we had to remind ourselves that there were actual humans behind these blogs. It didn't stop us from having a fantastic time though, and befriending them like they were, in fact, real.

As we approached the house, I took in the aesthetics of its façade. A large canopy covered the walkway leading to the large black door. It was very different from what I was used to in Scotland. The front garden was huge, and I imagined it took a lot of work to keep it as tidy as it was.

As soon as Shelle opened the front door, I was bombarded with barking and slobbering. "You remember Bonnie and Micky, right?" Shelle chuckled, pulling the two dogs back. I giggled back, bending down to greet the first of Shelle's pets.

"Hello guys, it's nice to meet you!" Bonnie, a rough sable collie, gave me a welcoming lick on the nose and Micky, a pit-bull beagle mix, barked along in the background, cheering his sister on. I glanced up at Shelle, who was beaming with pride and gave her a knowing look.

"What?" she asked.

"You know what," I grinned, placing my bag on the floor.

"You want to see the turtles, don't you?"

I nodded enthusiastically, shooting to my feet. Shelle took my hand and guided me to her spare room. There in a large glass tank were the two turtles, Shelley and Tommy, who I'd been dying to meet.

"Look at them! They're so cute! Remember when I drew them?"

Shelle burst out laughing at the memory. We'd once decided to have a doodle war on Tumblr, and it resulted in me drawing caricatures of the two turtles. We both fell about giggling, and I knew at once that I had made the right call in travelling halfway across the world to meet her.

All through the evening we chatted, discussing all the fun times we had talking on Skype and Tumblr. But most of all, we discussed our love of the Tumblr Turtles, and how much they'd won our hearts. We collectively wondered about the humans behind them, and what kind of people they were. One thing was for sure, we admired them graciously.

One of Shelle's cats, Elvis, had curled up on my lap and was purring gently. I was so happy to finally have conversations with her in person, and I was not disappointed.

The night wore on and before we knew it, it was three in the morning. Shelle showed me to my room, and then I sat heavily on the bed. It had been a fantastic day, but she had many things she wanted to show me in the morning.

We said our goodnights and I lay in bed, marvelling at the success of the day. Soft rain began to caress the windowpane, cascading down the smooth surface. I listened as the sound grew stronger until it sounded like a marching band right outside. Eventually I drifted off into a peaceful sleep, my dreams filled with fantastical images.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Well guys, the adventure is just beginning. I hope that you've enjoyed the first chapter of this personal journey. I want to thank Faithfulwhispers for being beta for me and being such an amazing friend. I also want to thank the wonderful Shelle for all her support with this. Lastly, of course, the actual Tumblr Turtles: leonardo-hamato80, mirth-and-muscle, turtle-super-genius and blog-ask-april-o-neil - my true friends.**


	2. The Storm

**Chapter 2 – The Storm**

My eyes creaked open and I had the fleeting feeling of not knowing where I was. Then all at once, the events of the previous day hit me like a tidal wave. I shot up in bed and flung the curtains open. My heart sank as I saw that the rain was still lashing down, rendering our day out in the town void. Still, I reassured myself. There would still be plenty to do around the house.

I tentatively padded out into the kitchen, wrapped up in a blanket. Fortunately Shelle was already up, nursing a mug of coffee. I should have known she'd be awake already. After all, our conversations on Skype always started as soon as I arrived at work, and being 5 hours ahead of her, it meant she was up ridiculously early!

I pulled out the chair next to her and gave her a big hug. "Morning sunshine," I winked, which made her chuckle. It felt so right to finally be saying things to her in person that we'd only ever been able to type out on a keyboard previously. I gestured towards the window and the pouring rain. "Today's a write off then?" I asked as her face fell.

Ever the optimist, Shelle recomposed herself and smiled from ear to ear. "Never mind, we can just stay inside and watch turtles all day!" I laughed at her enthusiasm; she had almost read my mind.

We spent the morning snuggled up under a blanket watching our favourite episodes, quoting them; marvelling at our favourite characters and giggling like a couple of teenagers. It was everything I expected it to be, and more.

When afternoon came, Shelle glanced at her tablet which was lying on the bed. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Tumblr Turts usually come on around this time," she smirked, and I lit up.

"Oh this is going to be weird! Weird, but fun!" I exclaimed, pulling out my phone. "We should totally just use your account to post. It'll confuse people!"

We both grinned widely at each other, knowing that it was going a complete riot. We lived up to our "partners in crime" status and had tons of fun sending people asks and answering Shelle's with replies from both of us.

"Isn't it hilarious that I came halfway across the world to see you, and we've spent all day mucking about on Tumblr?" I commented, once we'd giggled ourselves silly.

"Hey, at least we don't need to go onto Skype. The others will be missing us," Shelle stuck out her tongue at me.

"Did you just real life emoji me?"

"Oh wow, too much time on Skype… is this what it's lead to?" We cracked up once more, our sides aching from all the hilarity.

Suddenly there was a loud crash from outside, and we almost jumped out of our skins. The rain was even heavier now, nearly shaking the windows with its force. Flashes of lightning lit up the room and the echoing thunder could be heard in the distance.

"Woah, is it always this bad?" I asked, a little fearful for my safety.

"Sometimes, but we've not had a storm warning, so it can't be all that bad," she replied, concern etched on her face. Her words were short lived, and a deafening bang directly above the house made both our hearts skip a beat. We stared at each other, matching expressions of shock on our faces.

"That was a really loud one," I mumbled as we snuck out of the room and into the hallway.

I really didn't know what to expect, I'd never encountered such bad weather before. The occasional snowstorm or heavy rainfall was about the most I got in Scotland. I gazed out the window to see the fence in the back garden shake violently before freeing itself from its bonds and crashing to the ground. The water from the outside pool sloshed around like there was a hundred angry sharks all battling for dominance of the tiny water area.

Shelle's eyes widened in horror, and I knew that this was no ordinary storm. She immediately began rounding up all her animals, ushering them into the utility room. "No windows," she offered up as an explanation. I helped as best I could, but in all honesty, it was a terrifying experience.

We huddled up in the small room with the wide array of pets, and I saw that Shelle had begun to calm down. "I'm used to huge storms," she told me, patting my shaking hand. "You're taught these things as very small children in this state."

It was a relief to have her there as reassurance, but we both jumped when the house began to shake violently from the horrendous weather. It was the most terrifying experience that I'd ever encountered in my life. Looking at Shelle, I could tell that this was definitely out of the ordinary for her too. We clung to each other as the house continued to shake, squeezing our eyes shut and waiting for it to all be over.

Pictures on the walls began clattering to the ground, and we could feel the vibrations from the sheer force of the storm above our heads. The noise was deafening, loud crashes of thunder and rain battering the roof. I had no idea what the outcome would be, only that I was fearful of my life.

"What the-" I heard Shelle exclaim suddenly, and my eyes snapped open. What I saw was the last thing I'd have ever imagined. The whole room was glowing a bright pink, emanating a strange, unknown, piercing noise. I covered my ears, as did Shelle, and we gawped at the sight before us. The light shone so bright that it completely engulfed us, making it impossible to see anything. My entire body had become numb; it was as if I was there in only spirit. It felt like all my senses had been cruelly ripped from me, and Shelle's presence along with it. Nothing else existed, so much so, that I wasn't even aware of my own existence anymore.

As quickly as the ordeal had begun, it shuddered to a halt and we were left in the void, grasping onto one another. I refused to open my eyes, scared of what sight would befall us. The numbness subsided as I regained my senses, and I was aware of Shelle's heavy breathing next to me, her arms clasped around my waist. I creaked open one eye, preparing myself for devastation; however what I saw made me cry out in shock.

* * *

 **Author's notes: Things are starting to take shape now, and I believe something incredible has happened! Stay tuned for the next chapter. I hope you're all enjoying it so far. Thanks once again to my darling Faithfulwhispers. Her patience is second to none, and she has helped me out more than she knows. Faithy, you are an inspiration to writing. I thank you.**


	3. Dreams Do Come True

**Chapter 3 – Dreams Do Come True**

"Shelle! You're…" I trailed off, unable to even form words to explain what I was seeing. I stared down at my own body, and my breath caught in my throat. "I'm… We're… Shelle! Open your eyes!"

She did as she was told and unintentionally mirrored my actions. Her eyes darted from me to her own hands and then down to her body. "I-I- don't understand…" she wheezed.

Our appearances had changed dramatically within minutes, and I had a sneaking suspicion that it was related to the odd storm we'd encountered.

"We… we look like cartoons!" I finally managed to choke out. Sure enough, our normal human form had been replaced with caricatures. We still resembled ourselves, however now we looked like animated versions.

"Pie… I think…" she hesitated. I was thinking the same thing. Our angular hands, pointed noses and bright coloured eyes… It almost felt like we were in the world of our beloved turtles.

I took in our surroundings slowly, absorbing the area. Everything seemed so polished and new, like something from the future. We were situated in a long hallway, complete with shiny metal contraptions. The purpose of these gadgets was utterly unknown. At the far end of the passage was a bulky metallic door which looked to be tightly locked. Certainly no chance of escape through it. Laced across the smooth white walls were what appeared to be heating devices, emanating a warm lava-like glow. We were undeniably in a different world. It was impossible.

But it _was_ happening.

The faint whirr in the air. The slight sway of gravity. It all added up. It all made sense.

"I think… I think we're on an aircraft…" I mumbled, watching Shelle nod in disbelief.

"You're right…"

"Shh!" I hushed, holding my finger to my lips. There was the unmistakeable sound of voices in the distance and we pressed ourselves up against the metal wall for cover.

"It's fine, it was more than likely just a blip on the system. I'll check it out."

I stared at Shelle, my eyes wide. She gawped back, recognition setting in. Both of our gazes fell on the figure who stepped into the hallway. He spotted us and immediately drew his weapon, suspicion gleaming in his large brown eyes.

"Oh my gosh, that's…"

"Donnie…"

Hearing his name, the turtle lowered his bo staff and stared blankly at us, his mouth hanging open. He clearly had no idea who we were, and why would he? After all, the Tumblr turtles we spoke to online were merely humans behind a screen.

His mouth opened and closed three or four times, but no words emerged from it. He was clearly in some sort of shock.

Just then a loud clanging from behind him revealed the smaller turtle, who had just walked into some sort of space console and knocked a panel free.

"Dude, what's going on…? Oh…" Mikey spotted us too, and to our surprise a huge smile captured his chubby face. "MamaShelle! Pie!" He exclaimed and ran full pelt at us. We were still crouched on the ground, backs hard alongside the wall, but he still managed to throw his arms around us and pull us into a tight hug.

"But- How?!" Shrieked Donnie.

"I'm so happy that you came to visit!" Mikey squealed holding us close.

The utter confusion as to how we ended up on the ship was thick in the air and Donnie obviously couldn't comprehend it. At the other end of the spectrum, Mikey blatantly didn't see an issue with our presence.

After a ridiculously long hug, he finally let us go, his little face beaming with pleasure. "We were just about to have dinner!"

"Dinner? But it's lunchtime…" I protested, no doubt in my mind that we had literally just eaten our midday meal.

"Well, I suppose we don't really keep track of time up here," Donnie explained, albeit apprehensively. He clearly hadn't come to terms with our sudden manifestation.

"Come on!" Mikey took our hands and guided us through the huge door, which I'd previously thought locked, to the main part of the ship, where we gawked in awe. It was absolutely fascinating to see such beauty, one that we'd only ever seen on television.

"I can't believe this," Shelle whispered, soaking up the stunning interior of the massive dome. As with our original hallway, the colossal room was adorned with various consoles and devices. The same pattern of red and orange tubes splayed across the walls created a sense of warmth in the otherwise emotionless atmosphere.

I, on the other hand, had pressed my face up to the thick glass window and was hastily admiring the view. It was one thing to actually meet our friends and be in this crazy alternate universe, but it was another thing altogether to see the stars this close. The area in which we occupied was so immensely vast that I had trouble comprehending the whole thing.

"This… is crazy…" I mumbled before the whole world went black.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: The name of this chapter is true to the heart! It was so fun to write. I haven't got much else to say on this, other than stay tuned for more exciting adventures!**


	4. Cupcanatello

**Chapter 4 – Cupcanatello**

"Is she dead?"

"No! It's okay, she's going to be fine."

"Pie?"

"Shh, look, I think she's waking up."

"Stand back guys, give her a second."

Combined voices whirred in my mind, not one of them belonging to any one person. I racked my brain trying to remember what had happened, but everything was jumbled. I vaguely remembered the storm and came to the hasty conclusion that I must have banged my head. A hazy image of the turtles was coming back to me in a strange, half-forgotten dream. I made a quick mental note to tell Shelle about it later.

"Shelle?" I croaked, my hand searching in the air for her. She took my hand and squeezed.

"I'm here. Are you okay?"

I nodded slowly and chanced a peek through my left eye. Her face came into focus, but looked different like she wasn't quite human.

The rush of memories suddenly consumed me like a tsunami, filling every crevice of my mind and making it whole once again. I snapped open both my eyes and stared wildly at Shelle. It was no dream. This was really happening and I fought the urge not to pass out once again.

"It- It wasn't a dream…?" I mumbled with just enough volume for Shelle to comprehend me. She tightened her grip on my hand and broke our eye contact to gaze at the figures surrounding me. One by one they came into focus, my jaw dropped and I took in my friends' features.

Directly on front of me stood Donatello; his agape mouth mirroring mine. He was the most logical of the turtles, and even though he'd seen some incredible things in his 17 years, this was more than likely one of the more bizarre scenarios.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the youngest of the brothers, Michelangelo, stood next to Donnie with a big grin plastered all over his face. The situation obviously brought him great joy. Being the goofy one of the group, Mikey didn't need to grasp the complexity of the scene before him; he just accepted that we were there.

The other two faces staring down at me were equally baffled, tainted with a dash of concern. Raphael, the irrational one, who focused solely on the physical side of things, looked down at me with a half smirk. This only told me that even though he was confused as to how we'd materialised on the ship, he was more motivated by the fact that I'd passed out. And he looked most amused by this.

The eldest, and leader, Leonardo, although obviously perplexed, had the most concern etched on his face. He was the first to talk after my realisation that this world was, in fact, real.

"Pie… What happened? How did you get here?" He looked extremely uneasy, unable to look me directly in the eye, and I had a suddenly burst of anxiety that they didn't want us there. His expression snapped to that of panic, and he began backpedalling as if he'd read my mind. "Not that I meant that I don't want you guys here… I just don't understand why… how… this happened…"

I smiled up at my friend. As with Shelle, I'd only ever spoken to the turtles through my computer, and even then, I'd been convinced that they were humans posing as our beloved characters. This was something that I knew I would have to address sooner or later, but at this moment it didn't feel appropriate.

"We don't know either. I mean, there was a storm, it went really bright… Then we turned up here," Shelle explained to the puzzled turtles. Donnie suddenly piped up, placing his three fingered hand to his chin.

"Hmm, it seems as though the storm that you're talking about somehow opened up a gateway to our universe," he muttered more to himself than us. "What were you doing right before the storm struck?"

"Oh oh! I know!" Mikey chirped, waggling his hand in the air like a child in a classroom. He thrusted his laptop at Donnie. "They were talking to me. See?" He pointed enthusiastically at the screen at our last reblog of his post where we'd been having a hilarious conversation about unicorns.

"Hmm," Donnie seemed to regress further into his mind, eyes glazing over as he read over the post. "Perhaps that- but no ,that would be crazy. Hmm. I need to run some tests." He wandered off with Mikey's laptop under his arm, mumbling incoherently to himself.

I looked up at Leo, who shrugged. "You get used to him acting like that," he reassured me. "Come on, let's go and get you something to eat and drink." Leo offered his hand to me and I graciously took it. I was pleasantly surprised at just how strong he was for his size. At 5'4" Shelle and I weren't exactly giants, however compared to the turtles, we sure were taller. Except Donnie, who was the only one who looked down on us, the turtles were considerably smaller than us, but obviously made up for it in strength.

I found that I was severely dehydrated from the teleportation, and my stomach growled like a ravenous lion. Shelle appeared equally distressed, and we smiled weakly at each other as Leo and Mikey guided us to the think-a-food-machine. It was completely surreal. Something we'd only ever seen in the TV show and in pictures had suddenly come to life before our very eyes, and now we were lucky enough to test it out. We knew how it worked, in theory, but the act of actually having a meal appear just with thoughts was unfathomable.

Mikey noticed our nervous glances at each other and instantly explained what to do in a simple and understandable way.

"It's so so easy! You just place this here," he strung an odd device over first Shelle's head then mine, and in one swift movement pushed us both into the small cubicles at the station. "Now you just think about what you want to eat!" He sang out, performing a perfect pirouette behind us.

"Okay…" Shelle and I said in unison.

My mind felt blank. I was so hungry, but nothing seemed to be settling enough for me to actually think about what I wanted to eat. What was I in the mood for? Sweet? Savoury? It had to be something I'd eaten before, so that I could visualise a good enough memory of it for the think-a-food machine to replicate it. I still wasn't sure exactly how it worked, but made a mental note to ask Donnie about it later. My mind began to wander, amused at the initial reaction to send Donnie an ask on Tumblr about it, before it dawned on me that I could ask him in person. What a strange thought. Before I could stop myself, I began a train of thought back to the time one of my Tumblr friends posted an image of Donatello on a cupcake naming it "Cupcanatello". I chuckled to myself, lost in thought, when suddenly the machine I was attached to made a loud ping, and I snapped my eyes open.

"Well this is awkward…"

My nose caught the scent of newly baked dough and a sweet waft of icing. Sitting in a little pile directly on front of my face were 6 beautifully crafted cupcakes, all sporting various pictures of Donatello's face. My eyes widened as I gawped at the cakes. My immediate reaction was to try and hide them, but Mikey was too fast. He scooped up the cupcakes and examined each one with vigour.

"Oooh Pie! What on earth were you thinking about?!" He giggled, biting into one of Donnie's faces. Shelle chuckled softly next to him, tucking into her perfect plate of chicken parmesan.

"That's different…" came the voice of a girl.

We both recognised it instantaneously and almost staved our necks when we turned to look at her. There she stood, her smile engulfing her whole face. Her pose was telling us that she was holding back the urge to fling herself at us, but the slight hesitation from the hand placed on her hip showed an underlying apprehension. To ease this small worry, we both unseated ourselves and threw our arms around her, enveloping her in a huge group hug.

"I can't believe this!" She exclaimed, albeit muffled from the contact. She pulled her head back for air and continued, "when Leo told me what had happened, I didn't want to believe it. Get my hopes up, you know?" She beamed, "but here you both are! This is incredible!"

Shelle and I were both attempting to talk, but all that came out were garbled sobs of excitement. April clung to us tightly, echoing our rambling weeping. "This is even better than I ever imagined it!"

I nodded against Shelle's shoulder, my wet eyes staining her top. The hug lasted a few more minutes and when we all broke off we were met by the dumbfounded faces of all four turtles and Casey.

"Women!" Muttered Casey, which warranted a glare from April.


	5. Training Holographic Style

**Chapter 5 - Training Holographic Style**

After the initial shock had worn off and we were all fed and settled, we sat in a lounge area where we finally met the Fugitoid. He was just as lovely and friendly as we'd imagined, making sure that we felt fully welcome aboard his ship. He was equally baffled as the rest of us as to how we'd ended up transporting not only into space, but into a completely separate universe. It was something that we tried not to dwell on, however, we just counted ourselves lucky that we were able to participate in such an experience.

I could tell that the whole situation was eating away at Donatello. Like the rest, he was obviously happy that we were there, but his heart wasn't truly in it, and he often disappeared periodically.

As the day wore on, we began to discuss what the plan of action should be. There were many discussions about trying to find a way to get us back home, but Mikey was set on having us to stay for a while, so he could show us all the marvellous things we could do in space.

"Okay, I think we need to sleep on it. We can work out what we're going to do once we've rested," Leo summarised.

We all nodded in agreement and turned in for the night. As there was no day and night as such, it felt slightly odd to be going to sleep. But April assured us that it was something we'd get used to.

We were taken to a large room scattered with comfy looking space beds. As I lay down on one, I rolled over onto my side, and replayed the events of the day in my mind.

Surprisingly, I fell asleep almost immediately. I was sure that I would have trouble drifting off, what with all the crazy things that had happened, but before I knew it, I'd had a full rest and woke up feeling refreshed. I looked to the space bed next to me and found it empty; Shelle must have already risen.

I swung my legs onto the floor and padded around the ship, mildly worried that I might get lost. As I looked over to the far side of the large area, I spied Shelle and Raphael joking with one another.

"I can't believe you've just accepted 'Taco'," Shelle said with a chuckle. She nursed her essential morning time coffee.

"Heh, I guess there was no point fighting it, huh?" the relaxed Raphael replied with a snort.

"It could have been worse. At least you're not a mating ground for birds. Or a sausage." Her reminder of the hilarious autocorrects that we'd been so evilly burdened with over the months made Raph throw his head back in jest.

"That's true! At least I got to be good food. Not sure how sausage came about though."

"I don't know, either?! That was an odd one."

"Good job we don't use our t-phones for Tumblr, can you imagine Mikey's autocorrects?" He grinned.

"Oh," Shelle piped up, placing her coffee mug on the flat surface next to them, "we've had a few. Monkey, Makeup, Mommy."

"Well he is a bit of a monkey to be honest."

"He's a precious monkey…" she suddenly covered her mouth remembering something from when she and I first met. "I drew you as a taco…"

"You what?!" Raph spluttered.

"I what?!" She chortled despite herself. This made Raph smirk inconspicuously at her.

"Mama S, are you holding out on me?"

Shelle blushed openly and flashed puppy dog eyes at him. "I may or may not have drawn you as a taco…"

Raph's eyes widened. "Where is this drawing? Has anyone seen it?" he demanded jokingly.

Shelle hesitated. "Um... well..." he gave her an inquisitive look, arching his eye ridge. Shelle covered her mouth sheepishly. "Maybe all of Tumblr…? It sparked a beautiful friendship!" she reasoned.

"What?! Ugh, I bet it was a good drawing though."

"It wasn't my best actually, I should re-draw it," she replied with shifty eyes.

Raph only chuckled once more. "I'd like to see that."

I smiled to myself, glad that he'd come around to us being there. I scanned around to see if I could find anyone else there, but it was baron.

"Morning, Pie," came a voice from behind me and I spun around to be face to face with Leo.

"How do you do that?!" I spluttered.

"Do what?"

"Sneak up on people like that!"

Leo smirked. "Ninja…"

Rolling my eyes sarcastically, I chuckled, "Well, good morning to you too."

Leo returned my smile and then eyed me awkwardly like he was holding something back. "Listen, Pie, there's something I want to say…" he fidgeted with his hands, and I felt like he wanted to say something important.

"I just want to say thank you. I know I've said it enough times online, but now that you're here in person, I really want to properly… thank you…" He was stuttering now, but his words meant so much to me.

"Leo…" I pulled him into a tight embrace. "I know."

He didn't need to thank me. I had only done what any friend would do for someone in need. I'd always vowed to be there for him, for any of them, when they needed it. And that's what I'd done. The moment bonded us as two true friends, and I treasured it. Smiling gratefully for his appreciation, I broke the hug and we headed to the others to plan out a feast for our breakfast.

Fortunately for me, Mikey had already thought up a fantastic breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, more than enough for all of us. It was a banquet fit for royalty, and we certainly felt it. There were no lulls in the conversation; it just kept flowing like a well formed river. We eventually moved on to the topic of what we could do that day. Donatello was determined to find a way to take us back, but Mikey began rambling about all the things he could show us. In the end, Leo gave us a compromise.

"We'll spend the morning in the holo-trainer, then you can sit down and discuss with Donnie what to do to get you back home," he told us firmly. Mikey pouted at this, but soon livened up when Shelle asked what we could do in the holo-trainer.

"Ooh, ohh, all sorts of stuff! There's loads of different programs on it. Come on! I'll show you!" He grabbed both our hands and directed us to the large entrance of the holo-room.

"Wait, Mikey!" Raph grumbled as Mikey began slamming buttons on the console. "Remember what happened when you went in there by yourself… You're not taking them _there_ ," he glared at his little brother, obviously not wanting to retell the story, but Mikey obliged anyway.

"I know, I know, no one wanted to go to the Hamataro world with me, and I got bored playing by myself. But that's not where I was going to take them, bro!"

Shelle and I grinned at Mikey, and Raph started to tap the buttons a little less frantically than Mikey had. "There," he finished. "I think you'll enjoy this," he said with a wink.

Leo and Donnie made their way over to us, both looking a little apprehensive. Raph spotted their trepidation straight away and patted Leo's shell. "It's okay, bro, I've picked the perfect scenario," he reassured his nervous brother.

In return the blue banded turtle nodded, and allowed a grin to engulf his olive skinned face. "Okay team, let's go!"

His words sent shivers down my spine, and by the elated look on Shelle's face, she felt it too. It was one thing to finally be able to meet our beloved friends, but another entirely to be branded part of their team.

"Oh my, are you all going in?" Professor Honeycutt remarked while April and Casey sidled up to us eyeing the holo-trainer doorway. "Very well, I shall remain here and keep an eye on things."

Full to the brim with energy, Mikey bounced wildly on the spot while the large metal door began to slide open. All I could see when I peered into the room was a large blank space, similar to the areas that we'd already explored on the ship. Not bothering to wait for the others to enter first, the smallest turtle placed his large hands on our backs, and in one swift movement thrust us both into the circular room. We were quickly followed by the rest of the team and the door slammed shut. What happened next blew my mind.

My tiny brain could hardly comprehend what was physically happening around me. If it weren't for the various improbable scenarios that had happened to me over the last twenty four hours: the teleportation to another universe, meeting friends who we'd believed to be fictional, and being in an actual spaceship _in space_ , then I might not have fully believed that what I was witnessing in this room was even real.

It felt as though we had flawlessly transported back to earth. Every pixel before us had seamlessly adjusted itself in a manner that provided an eerily realistic three dimensional painting around us. A work of art that we were free to wander around in. Every single one of my senses were being pushed to their limits as I struggled to grasp what exactly had taken place before me. Surely this room wasn't actually capable of teleporting us anywhere? Then why did I feel like I was standing in a cold, damp sewer…?

That's when the realisation struck me like a stray brick in a botched demolition. We were in the lair. The turtles' home. The familiarity that enveloped me was staggering. We stood facing the old subway barriers which marked the entrance to the lair. I instinctively took a hold of Shelle's hand as we both stood rooted to the spot, mouths hanging open like startled fish.

"Thought you'd like it," Raphael beamed smugly, and hopped over the far left barrier, followed closely by Leo.

"Like it? I _love_ it!" Shelle exclaimed suddenly from my right, squeezing my hand tightly.

Raph smirked haughtily from the other side of the barricades. Mikey whooped with joy and leapt across to join his brothers. I cast a sideways glance at the others who also bounded over the metal supports, and then fixated on Shelle, who looked utterly bewildered.

"This is weird, huh?" I mumbled out the corner of my mouth.

"You're telling me," came the hoarse reply. "I can scarcely believe what I'm seeing here!"

"It looks so real…" I commented as we watched the turtles, April and Casey all dash around the area all waiting for us to join them. "I can't believe that we're here, in the lair…"

"I know… Come on!" Shelle raced towards the barriers still attached to my hand and dragging me along behind her.

"Woah!"

With momentum on our side, she released her grip on my hand, and we both vaulted over the turnstiles landing perfectly at the other side. What a rush!

"I've always wanted to do that!" I exclaimed triumphantly, punching the air.

The others cheered for us, hooting with delight. Even for such a small feat, the adrenaline was coursing through my body sending all my senses into overdrive. As per usual, Shelle seemed to be feeling the exact same way. We clung on to one another and jumped up and down in exhilaration.

"Nicely done, dudes!" Mikey praised.

We were met by six nodding heads, all giving us approving smiles. My chest swelled with pride. It may not have seemed like something awfully impressive to them, but they obviously saw the victory for us, and they met it with perfect reactions.

I gazed around the pit area in which we'd wandered and held my hands out nervously on front of me, as if searching for an invisible wall. Casey was first to notice my strange behaviour.

"Um… what you doin'?" He enquired, a look of bewilderment passing his face. Donnie stepped into my path and lowered my arms to my sides.

"There's no need for that," he reassured me and began to explain. "You feel like you're going to walk straight into the wall of the holo-room, right?"

I nodded.

"There's no need to worry, you see-"

"Ugh, spare her the lecture, Donnie!" Raph snapped.

I was looking forward to his explanation as to why we weren't banging into the confines of the room, but the hot headed brother seemed to be having none of it. A disgruntled grimace shadowed across Donatello's face, but he whispered quickly, "perception…" and wrinkled up his snout at his small conquest.

I repeated the word in my head for good measure and decided to discuss it with him later. What with the danger of walking face first into a solid wall now void, I wandered about freely, drinking in the atmosphere of the lair we'd seen so many times on television.

"This is incredible! To see this on a screen is one thing, but to actually be here… it's awesome…" I remarked, running my fingers over the solid walls on the sewer interior. It felt damp to the touch, and slightly slimy, exactly the way I'd imagined. I was met by the puzzled eyes of Leonardo.

"Screen? You mean on Tumblr…?" He asked warily.

I hesitated. I wasn't sure how much of our world they actually knew about, after all, to them they were hidden heroes, unknown to the outside world. "Well, no… In our dimension, you're TV stars… Did you not wonder how we knew so much about you?"

Leo and the others looked taken aback. "We just thought we were Tumblr famous…"

"We were led to believe that you were humans portraying the turtles, humans from our world,." I told him boldly.

"We had to give that impression, you know, to not blow our cover," Donnie retorted, waving his hands around. "Otherwise people would've asked questions. Questions that we couldn't answer."

Their stories seemed quite conflicted, but I opted to drop the matter. However Donnie seemed to want to get his story straight.

"Once I figured out that there were other… turtles… in other universes, I began to wonder if all that were, in fact real."

"So you're saying that you believe the other turtle blogs are actually humans playing you guys?" Shelle asked.

"Spot on. Once I worked out that we were more than likely seen in the same way, I explained to Leo and the others that we'd have to pose as humans from your universe, or 'muns', to not alert the community to the reality."

"So you're turtles, posing as humans, posing as turtles…?" Shelle surmised, somewhat uncomfortably.

Donnie's eyes darted around the lair, meeting everyone's eyes. "Well… yes."

"Wow…" we said in unison.

" _Anyway_ now that that's out of the way, let's continue the tour," Leo snapped and opened his arms to lead the way.

I couldn't understand his irritation, but I guessed that they'd worked hard on this perception, and now Donnie had undone it all. It seemed that they genuinely had no idea that we watched them on a television show back in our universe, and that they were, in actuality, famous- albeit as cartoon characters. It was a strange premise, one that I wanted to discuss further with Donnie before we got home.

For now though, we had a lair to explore. Mikey jumped into leadership position and began enthusiastically pointing out different areas of their home. We reached the kitchen and he flung open the freezer door.

"Here she is!" He squealed as he stepped out of the way to reveal the cat made of ice cream swaying in the lamplight.

It was an even more bizarre sight than seeing the turtles or the lair. Ice Cream Kitty was literally made of ice cream. As we edged closer, I could feel the low temperature radiating from her icy body. She let out a tiny meow, blatantly happy to see her master. I felt a small tug at my heart when she licked his nose, leaving a dribble of strawberry smeared across his snout. This wasn't real. She wasn't real.

These poor kids. Lost in space when their real home was millions of miles away. They still had such a long way to go before returning home and saving the earth from destruction. I daren't let them see my sudden emotion change so I plastered on a smile, and shot Shelle a knowing look. We were so in tune, I knew she was feeling it too.

"Come and see the Dojo next!" Mikey suddenly chirped.

It was like he couldn't show us everything fast enough. I found myself wondering if we had a limited time in the holo-trainer. Just as the smallest brother started to lead us towards the Dojo, I noticed a small bright light emanating from the far back sewer wall. It was almost mesmerising, drawing me to it, and I broke from the group to be pulled in.

As I edged closer I spied an image in the light, one that was recognisable, but at the same time, did not belong here. The closer I edged towards the odd glow, the stranger I began to feel. The sensation engulfed my body, but I found that I couldn't stop myself from reaching out in the direction of the glimmer. It was like my senses had been switched off with the push of a button. All that mattered was reaching the centre of the light. Bright and white, with the flickering image, just barely enough to be seen, as if it were beckoning me to reach in. As my hand finally entered the glow, the picture before shone through. I was met with a flash of black and gold and the sudden horror of what I was looking at hit me. This was my bedroom. And it was not in cartoon form like the rest of the world. I glanced down at my hands. Neither were they. Oh god, oh god. What was happening to me?!

I vaguely heard my name being called with a note of alarm. I whisked round to find Shelle, still in her cartoon form, yelling mutely at me. Her eyes were wide in horror as the whole area warped and we were sent into a piercing white void.


	6. Dorky Voices

**Chapter 6 – Dorky Voices**

It wasn't as though the room that we'd first entered had reappeared. It was just completely white. There was no depth, no shadows to guide us. It was like a bare word document before you began writing; just a vast space void of all light. The only way that we knew where we stood was because gravity held us floor.

"What happened?!" Donnie shrieked as he came running up to me. My eyes shot down to my hands and I sighed in relief to see that they had returned to their angular cartoon state.

"I-I don't know. There was a light, I reached into it and I thought I saw… my bedroom back in our universe. Then… nothing…"

"Oh no…" Donnie sighed, placing his large hand across his face in anguish.

"What? What's wrong?" Shelle demanded as the others joined us, all showing similar signs of discontent.

He heaved another burst of air from his lungs. "This is not good…" he mumbled inwardly.

" _What_?!" we all insisted in harmony.

"I think the holo-trainer malfunctioned. It sensed an alien presence," he told us slowly, not daring to look any of us in the eyes.

"You mean us…?" Shelle asked realisation setting in. He nodded, unblinking.

"So we need to find the doorway! Call to the Professor to let us out!" I shrieked, stretching my arms out to feel for a wall.

Donnie groaned. "No, Pie. It was like I was trying to tell you before. Perception. The holo-trainer alters it, so that no matter what you see in here will always be the correct scale. We could walk for days in one direction and could be walking in circles around the room in reality. It just won't work."

I was reminded of one of my favourite video games, Assassin's Creed, where during the loading screen your character could be running in a straight line and never get anywhere. I began to panic.

"S-so what then?! How do we get out?!" I yelled at the stressed out turtle who recoiled in frustration.

"How should I know?!" he squeaked, blatantly baffled by the situation.

"Maybe the Professor will see that there was a malfunction and get us out?" Leo theorised.

"Perhaps. But for now, we need to sit tight and remain together," Donnie instructed while pacing around the circle of friends.

We all sat in a tight ring for what felt like an eternity. I could tell that everyone was getting restless, but kept my mouth shut for fear of upsetting anyone. The truth was that I felt responsible for our current predicament, and the guilt was beginning to overwhelm me.

"This is stupid!" Raph suddenly spat with a flurry of anger and frustration. "The objective has been failed for sure, so why hasn't it reset?"

"What did you even put in as the objective?" Leo asked his brother.

"It was simple. Just that Mikey show the girls all of the lair. It should have shut down after that. But now there's not even a lair to show! It should've just shut down," Raph looked around for something to lash out at and we all recoiled.

I wasn't exactly sure of the inner workings of the holo-trainer, but my mind was put at ease by my wonderful little buddy.

"Oh! I wanna explain this one! I know this one!" Mikey began hopping on one leg with his arm stretched up in the air, like a kid with the right answer in school.

I admired his enthusiasm and ability to keep our spirits up even in a dire situation. Leo gave him a nod of approval and the excited little turtle delved into an explanation that would put their genius brother to shame

"When you go into the holo-trainer, you need to put in what you wanna' do in there. When you do that, you have to enter an objective that needs to be completed. Once you do that, the whole thing shuts down and you win!" the adorable little brother told us excitedly. "But when you fail, you don't get hurt, it just ends the thing and it stops."

"Which is why we can't understand why it hasn't ended…" Donnie ended glumly.

"So what do we do now?" April asked.

"For once, April, I honestly don't know." He hung his head, obviously distraught that he didn't have all the answers.

"This is all my fault…" I mumbled, desperately fighting back tears.

I was instantly enveloped by six arms. Shelle, April and Mikey had all hurled themselves at me and were giving me reassuring hugs. It was a well needed group hug and it definitely helped.

"It's just one of those things. We've been in worse situations," Leo shrugged.

"I know… It just feels like this particular one is so helpless," I said, muffled from the various bodies wrapped around me.

"No no no! It's okay, Pie! We'll get out of it, don't you worry!" Mikey's voice rang out right next to my ear. His words were soothing as always, but I couldn't shake the feeling that this was somehow my responsibility.

"Does the holo-trainer run on your minds?" Shelle asked unexpectedly. Donnie opened his mouth and then shut it quickly. It seemed that the prodigy turtle was having a hard time grasping the reality of the situation.

"Well, the programs that the Fugitoid and I created were taken from our memories, but the actual holo-trainer itself runs off those programs. So no, technically the scenes you see are not connected to our minds directly," he explained warily.

Shelle's shoulders slumped. She obviously thought she was on to something.

We all returned to our seated ring and exhaled identical sighs. We were all exhausted and starving at this point, but there was nothing that could be done, apart from wait and pray that the Fugitoid released us soon.

After another few minutes of silence, the white void around us suddenly burst into life. The blank canvas worked open all around us as it started to fill with colours and shapes. We all shot to our feet and whooped with joy. It was finally over.

"Guys…" came Leo's shaky voice. We were so engrossed with celebrating our escape that we hadn't noticed the many ominous figures surrounding us.

"It is those that are known as… the turtles," echoed a chilling, familiar voice.

Eight pairs of eyes all resembled dinner plates as the circle of robot aliens advanced on us. No one had brought any weapons into the holo-trainer, why should they? It was just supposed to be a routine session for Shelle and me to see the lair, not a full on attack from the Kraang. I didn't know how to react. I'd never been in this sort of situation before. At the same time it was an awe inspiring position to be in, and for some odd reason, I felt safe with the company I was in.

Leo instinctively pulled Shelle and me into the centre of our ring, protecting us. We watched as April and Casey created an inner band while the turtles took their stances, arms raised on front of their faces. It was the first time that I saw them all close their nictitating membranes, and the gleaming white of their eyes was even more intimidating that I'd ever imagined.

The first Kraang-bot lunged forward with its laser gun, spraying pink beams all around us. Luckily none of us were hit, but it forced the turtles to leap into action. Seeing them fight this close up was a wondrous thing, even in the current circumstances.

A bot went flying past me, courtesy of Raph, whose laughter echoing around us showed that he was loving this. He stabbed a sharp punch at another, almost tearing it in two. Stray rays slammed into the back of his shell, causing a harsh reaction of rage. He roared in irritation and gripped the gun in the Kraang-bot's hands, yanking it clean away. He sneered complacently at his small victory and aimed the gun at its owner. Cursing loudly, the warrior began firing shots at the bot, which exploded, releasing the creepy pink brain-like creature from within.

"Raphael!" scolded Leo at the sound of his brother's foul language.

Even in the heat of battle, the leader still maintained a cool exterior. His fighting style was the reverse of Raph's; he almost seemed to be executing a well-choreographed dance with the enemies. A right hook to a head. A spinning kick to a torso. Duck and under some legs. A swift jab of his feet to send another bot soaring through the air. The pile of metal and groaning aliens to his left was getting bigger by the second.

Meanwhile Shelle and I were still guarded by Casey and April. They stood uncomfortably, appearing to be desperate to join the action. We were so much engrossed in the phenomenal vision blooming before us that we were oblivious to the fact that we were about to be part of it all.


	7. Reign of the Turtles

**Chapter 7 – Reign of the Turtles**

"Guys, watch out!" April screamed as an unnoticed Kraang snuck around the back of the tight circle.

She subconsciously swung her arm around and connected with the side of the Kraang-bot's head rendering it inert. Casey had noticed the mishap and pushed us both to the ground defensively. Quick as a shot, he rallied up April and the two regrouped, leaving us exposed.

"Is this real? Or part of the holo-trainer?!" I asked urgently.

Shelle didn't quite look like she was with it. Her eyes were glazed over with the sort of fear that could paralyse a person. This experience was getting more intense by the second and even though I was petrified, the fight in me was surfacing.

While the turtles, April, and Casey were battling furiously with the Kraang, I spotted a fleshy pink creature closing in on us. It was much quicker than I could have anticipated, and before I had the chance to react, it had pushed down on the ground with its slimy tentacles. It then launched itself into the air, aiming right for us.

I don't know what made me act the way I did. I hadn't practiced martial arts for many years, however, it seemed that the instincts which I'd been taught had been hardwired into me. A fraction of a second before the alien attached itself to me, I swung my leg round and pelted it with all my might. My instep caught it right between its eyes, and it squealed in pain. The Kraang hit the floor with a squelch and scurried off in the opposite direction.

I turned to check on Shelle. She had covered her face with her arms, but was otherwise unharmed. "Are you alright?" I enquired, squatting down next to her.

"This can't be happening!" she cried, grasping my hands in panic.

"I don't think it is… I honestly think this is a simulation. Look around. We're in New York. There's no way that we've transported there. We're in space remember?" I was desperate to reassure her, and I truly believed that was I was saying was correct. The scene around us was almost directly from an episode of the show. I began to wonder if that was a coincidence.

Before I knew it, the others had surrounded us, after finishing off the attackers. Broken bots and unconscious Kraang littered the street around us like some sort of alien graveyard.

"Is everyone okay?" Leo probed, bending down to examine Shelle and me.

"Yes, we're-" I began, but was cut off by a crackling sound. It almost sounded like white noise. We all eyed over the area as, once again, the scene began to change.

"Wait a second…"

"But that's…"

"This is too weird, dudes."

"I do not look good from this angle."

We were upon a rooftop, standing in a row, staring down at… April and her Father.

Leo gasped. "Guys, this is the first time that we came topside."

Donnie glanced nervously at April, who was gawping at her past self. "The day we met April…" he whispered. She returned his gaze and a delicate smile fleeted past her lips.

The moment was cut short by a loud cough from Raph. "Guys! You both remember what happens next! Time to kick butt!" he yelled and leaped off the side of the building.

"Raph! Wait!" Leo shouted after him, but admitted defeat. "Ugh, come on…" he mumbled irritably, and darted after his rash brother.

"Um…" a hesitant noise escaped my mouth as Shelle and I peered over the boundaries of the roof top. Before I could even express my concerns about how we'd descend the building, Mikey had spun me around and pushed his shell against me.

"Grab on, Pie!" he beamed, and as I wrapped my arms around his neck, he shot down the side of the building. Allowing gravity to aide him, Mikey sprang from fire escape to window ledge with such ease that I felt completely safe hanging on to his carapace. I snuck a momentary look above us and saw that Donnie was giving Shelle the same treatment. She appeared utterly thrilled, her teeth on full show, shrieking with excitement. Donnie gave the impression of enjoying her reaction. I could tell that he was attempting to keep a serious look on his face, but the exposure of his tooth gap gave him away.

April and Casey had eloquently followed us, showing no fear of scaling a forty foot building. They both landed seconds after us and shared a quick high five. We scanned the area for Raph and Leo, and spotted them crouching in the shadows. Leo lifted his finger to his lips. We all obeyed his silent order, and crept up behind them.

"This is just before April and her Dad get attacked," our leader whispered in a hushed tone. Mikey opened his mouth, but Leo immediately snapped his arm up, fist balled up to hush his baby brother's potential outburst.

Sure enough, we watched mutely as a large, white van pulled up the alley, cutting April and her Dad off.

"What if your past counterparts are here too?" I asked cautiously, "I mean, if April's past self is here, what's to stop yourselves being here too?"

Donnie mulled this over for a moment. "Well, it's not like we've actually time travelled. It's just a projection. So there's no danger of us altering the future."

"I guess we just wait and see then. Maybe if we let this play out, it will stop the holo-trainer," Leo pondered.

We nodded in agreement and all settled our eyes on the unfolding scene. The man we all knew as Snake exited the van first, his gaze trained on the budding victims. Next, the back doors swung open and four suited men launched themselves out of it. Eight sharp intakes of breath followed. We all knew that these were no ordinary men in black pinstripe suits.

"Kraang…" we chanted in harmony.

The four identical men marched up to April and Mr O'Neil, blank expressions on their faces. From the angle in which we were watching, we could see the Kraang close in on them, and it looked even more menacing than any TV episode I'd ever seen.

"What is this?!" Mr O'Neil demanded, as his daughter grabbed fearfully onto his arm.

I couldn't see her face, but I knew she must have been terrified; after all, this was April's first real encounter with the strange alien species.

"This is messed up…" our April mumbled from behind me.

The turtles all began throwing their gazes towards the rooftops, clearly searching for some indication that their younger equivalents were about to rescue April.

Meanwhile, the rest of us watched on as April and her Father were manhandled towards the van. Mr O'Neil was forced to the ground where he passed out from shock. April screamed desperately for help, but her calls seemed unanswered. I looked to the turtles while April's Dad was being thrown like a ragdoll into the back of the vehicle. We all shared an unspoken thought.

This was the moment where the turtles were supposed to attack.

But they were nowhere to be seen.

Panicked faces all darted amongst each other, before finally resting on Leo. He took one second to make his decision. "Go."

One by one the turtles piled out, each taking a Kraang and incapacitating them with very little effort. A dead silence rang over us as us humans ventured out of the shadows.

"I remember that being a lot harder last time," Raph remarked, peering down at the small pile of debilitated robots.

"Yeah, that seemed almost… too easy," Donnie nodded in agreement.

"It shows just how much you've grown," Shelle beamed with pride at the boys. "Something that was almost impossible a couple of years ago, is second nature to you now. You've grown up."

"Wait! Where's April?" Donnie suddenly exclaimed.

"Right here…" April cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Not- not- no… the _other_ April?"

"Lookin' for dis… freaks?"

We all spun around to find Snake clutching a belligerent April, self-righteous smirk claiming his face. Behind us an ominous beeping sound caused us all to about turn. The Kraang were waking up and heading right for us. Leo, Raph and Mikey sprang into action, giving it their all. However, Donnie stood rooted to the spot, refusing to remove his eyes from Snake and April.

Casey and our April threw themselves into the fight to help out the heroic ninjas, while Shelle and I retreated back to the shadows for safety. Suddenly, I was aware of a tight grip around my ankle. One of the pink alien brains had wrapped its slimy tentacle around my limb and was pulling me backwards.

"Help!" I screamed. Shelle tried to grab my hand, but the Kraang was too quick. I was dragged out of her reach, clawing desperately at the ground, to no avail.

Donnie was vacillating between saving April and rescuing me. He had obtained a large rock and was poised, ready to lob it at Snake. Leo must have caught sight of this, because he shouted directly at Donnie.

"Donnie! She isn't real! Get to Pie! Now!" he aimed a left hook at the bot he was fighting and it clattered to the ground, robotic face now exposed.

The purple masked ninja hesitated at his brother's words. He must have been so torn, but deep down knew that I was the one who needed his attention. He aimed the rock at Snake and released. What happened next seemed to be transpiring in a much slower fashion than reality dictated.

Donatello dashed towards me, and using his momentum, launched himself into the air. Extending his leg, his foot connected with the Kraang's fleshy face and it released its grasp on me. At the same time the rock in which Donnie had heaved at Snake, connected with his stomach and propelled him backwards. April was flung into the air. Without hesitation, Shelle sprinted towards the falling girl and caught her perfectly in her arms.

For a split second we all stopped and gawped at the scene. The next moment the images around us had fizzled out and we were left standing awkwardly in the cylindrical white room. The door opened, revealing the Fugitoid.

"Oh thank goodness you're all safe!"


	8. Peace of Mind, Strength in S

**Chapter 8 – Peace of Mind, Strength in Spirit**

The turtles had been on many adventures, some much more terrifying than our escapade that day. Still, as we sat huddled around the television set, watching _Chris Bradford's 2 Ruff Krew_ and munching pizza, I began to wonder if they had perhaps become desensitised to the danger of it all. They'd come close to death countless times, and even though they'd always come out of it alive, I worried that they'd become complacent.

Shelle, who hated pizza, was nibbling on a taco that April thought would be hilarious to think up, and we were all tucking into various pizzas with strange toppings. I'd settled on a jellybean and marshmallow topped with mozzarella, courtesy of Mikey. It wasn't as bad as I'd imaged, and I found myself slowly warming to the taste.

Shelle and I were still far from calm after the ordeal in the holo-trainer. Even April and Casey seemed completely unaware of what had taken place merely hours ago… the turtles even more so. It baffled me.

"How do you guys manage to keep so calm after all that? I'm still buzzing on adrenaline!" I finally remarked. Shelle nodded in agreement next to me. Swallowing her food, she followed my inquisitive stare at the rest of the group. We were met by blank stares and shrugs.

Leo leaned in towards me and whispered, "After dinner, I'll show you guys how I stay relaxed."

True to his word, once we'd eaten our fill and rested our bellies, Leo guided Shelle and me down a long corridor that we'd never seen before. It barely fit the three of us, and we had to manoeuvre around a plethora of pipes in order to get to Leo's final destination.

"Where are we going?" Shelle asked, almost banging her head on a long hanging conduit.

"Watch yourself!" Leo exclaimed while grabbing her shoulders to stop her from a nasty accident. "You'll see. It's just down here."

We weaved in and out of the pipelines until we reached a small door. I could feel the low hum of the engines, and a light vibration through the floor. Leo unlatched the door and led us inside. It was a small room, much less majestic than the rest of the ship, but still amazing, nonetheless. A small light fitting hung from the low ceiling which provided a sufficient amount of light, but what really piqued my curiosity was the numerous melted down candles dotted about the room. In the centre of the chamber lay an old, tattered piece of fabric that looked like it had seen better days.

Leo took a deep breath as he entered after us and smiled gently. He was watching us, waiting for a reaction, but we were both too awestruck to respond. Stepping over to a small table in the corner, he pulled out a box of matches and began lighting the candles one by one.

"How did – I mean, where did – How?" Shelle stuttered.

"I picked some stuff up here and there on different planets that we visited. Turns out the Kraang weren't the only aliens to visit earth. Some of them brought back souvenirs and sold them. I wanted to make sure I had a nice tranquil place to meditate," Leo offered as an explanation.

So he was going to teach us how to meditate. That was certainly different. Exciting, sure, but very different to what I was used to. Shelle looked extremely apprehensive once it dawned on her what was happening. When his shell was turned towards us as he lit the last of the candles, she cast her anxious gaze upon me.

"I don't know if I can do this," she whispered quietly. "I have focus issues. I don't want to let him down."

I opened my mouth to reassure my best friend, but Leo's ninja hearing had alerted him to the problem. He spun around and tilted his head. "Shelle, you could never let me down. Besides, I am a great teacher," he chuckled and gestured towards to makeshift mat. "Take a seat, my students."

"Yes, Sensei," Shelle grinned and crossed her legs. I followed, nerves and excitement building up inside me. Leo looked most pleased with the 'Sensei,' comment and he puffed out his chest with pride. The candles were offering us a beautiful synchronised dance. Each flame flickered identically from the soft purring of the engines below us. It was magical to say the least.

"When meditating, the first thing you need to do is find a relaxing location. This room is situated right above the engines, and I found that that humming rhythm they give off really soothes me," Leo explained, taking a seat in front of us. He smiled reassuringly at us and took a deep breath. "Now I want you to close your eyes and listen to my voice."

We did as we were told. It was a little unnerving having my eyes shut and being thrust into darkness, but I concentrated on Leo's words and attempted to relax. I knew very little of meditation and what it entailed. What I did know was, I was looking forward to being mentored by Leo.

"Now I want you to start to relax every part of your body. Start with your toes, and work your way up, just letting go of each section."

It took me a couple of tries, but I finally managed to uncurl my toes and let them loosen off. Once I'd succeeded in this, I did the same with my feet, legs, and then worked my way up my body until everything felt like it was floating on a cloud. It was a wonderful sensation, but I could tell there was more to come. As Leo began talking again, I listened deeply, hanging on his every word.

"Keep completely still. Become aware of your surroundings," he told us in the most calming voice I'd ever encountered. "Don't move. Just be." We sat like that for a few moments. Adjusting ourselves to this newfound sense of pure tranquillity proved easier now that our physical beings were unperturbed.

"Now, breathe in deeply through your nose. Fill your lungs and focus on how that feels. Release the air, emptying your lungs and right down to the pit of your stomach."

I'd never really focused on breathing like that before. It was such a natural and normal thing to do – certainly not something that I'd ever been so aware of. It made me appreciate the air I was taking into my body. Leo began chanting in a slow, soft tone on front of us.

"Breathe in… Breathe out…" It aided in the rhythmic breathing pattern we'd adopted, and I felt myself fall into a deep state of calm.

My mind unintentionally began to wander to the series of events that had led us there. I could feel the pace of my breaths beginning to waver as I remembered being attacked by the Kraang. As if reading my mind, Leo spoke again.

"If you feel any thoughts creeping in, just push them aside. Listen to my voice… Breathe in… Breathe out… push any thoughts to the back of your mind."

I swallowed and concentrated on what the placid turtle was telling me. He continued his mantra, sending us deeper and deeper into our trances. After a few minutes, I was more relaxed than I'd ever been in my life. It felt like a lifetime later that he slowly began counting down from twenty, easing us out of the dreamlike state.

"Acknowledge everything around you. Let your senses adjust to the room. Take everything in. Start to wiggle your toes, flex your fingers. Bring yourself back to reality. Last, open your eyes."

I stared straight at Leo, who nodded his approval at our participation. I was sure that not even his brothers knew of this serene space, and that we'd just indulged in a very personal part of Leo's life.

He rose carefully to his feet, bringing up his head last in order not to let the blood rush to his head. I turned to Shelle. She raised her body up to join us. I gave her a questioning look to see how she was feeling, and she smiled in reply. I was glad that she was able to get something out of the session, even though she'd been so nervous.

I thought back to the incident from earlier that day, and it suddenly appeared much less daunting. I felt proud of the way we'd handled it, and was grateful for having had such an adventure with our friends. A wash of calm hung over me then.

Leo was right in one point… he was an excellent teacher.

* * *

 **Thanks to my good friend DrummerGirl231 for her excellent beta work. Love you, DG 3**


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